Making Science Relevant to The Youth

Science fiction is often more fiction than science, but when flipped fiction becomes a way broadcasting scientific facts and advancements with a cool twist, presenting knowledge with a unique and fascinating approach. Rob Spence, a Canadian film maker, does this in a video put out to promote a Deus Ex, a recently released video game. Spence draws parallels between the video game's main character who is a cyborg and where neuroscience actually is by interviewing in human cyborgs. The game is set 15 year in the future but it is not terribly far off (in a lot of respects) to things that are happening today.

The individual responsible for closer than usual understanding of science in the video game is Will Rosellini, a doctoral student at The University of Texas's neuroscience program. Rosellini who studies similar things to that in the video game and owns a company which develops medical solutions to neurological problems was a consultant to the video game and talks about the experience in an interview.

I thought the video was interesting because it illustrated some fundamentals of neuroscience in a way people with no interest in neuroscience or science could understand and enjoy. While not going too far into specifics (of the neuroscience that is) I believe the video does address the nervous system and perception as something that exists and are not separate from the body. The film maker draws a distinction between this video game and the Matrix/Inception style of science fiction which is based more on dualism than anything real. I like it when science and creativity meet and I think it is good when popular culture illustrates science as science. If you like to check out the video, it is posted below.